Singeing or gassing machine



Oct. 26 1926.

A. M. GILLESPIE SINGEING 0R GASSING MACHINE Filed Jan. 12 1923 I I I,

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 if figt /ifornys.

Oct. 26, 1926. 1,604,276

A. M. GILLESPIE SINGEING OR GASSING MACHINE Filed Jan. 12, 1923 2Sheets-Sheet 2 :ed fish 2%, 1926.

ANDREW M. GILLESPIE, 9F CGVENTBY, RHODE ISLAND.

SI NGEING Olt GASSZNG ZVIACHINE.

Application filed January 12, 1923.

This invention relates to improvements in singeing or gassing machinesfor singeing yarns, threads and fabrics to remove the lint, fluff andloose fibers therefrom.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved machine in which aweb of yarns or a sheet of fabric may be traversed through or across theflames from suitable gas-burners to subject the material to the grantingor singeing operation.

A particular object of the improvement 18 to provide means for arrestingthe travel of the yarns or other sheet when occasion requires, and forconcurrently removing the material from proxin'iity to the burners sothat the yarns or fabric will not be scorched or burnt from excessiveexposure to the flame.

Another object of the improvement is to provide means for starting themachine and timultaneously returning the yarns or fal ric into proximitywith tl burners to continue the singeing operation as before.

Another object of the improvement is to provide a. machine in which thesheet of ya E18 or other material is so manipulated that when it removedfrom the burners and then returned into proximity therewith the portionof the sheet which has traveled forward after being withdrawn from thefame will still be subjected to the gassing operation to insure that thewhole length of the sheet will be properly singed.

Further objects of the improvement are set forth in the followingspecification which describes a preferred embodiment of the invention asillustrated by the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

1 1 is a side elevation of my improved 5), suing machine;

' h s. 2, a plan view of the same;

ilig. 3, an enlarged detailed view of the sto ninngmechanisrn of themachine;

Fig. f, an enlarged detailed view of the control-device for thestopping-mechanism of the machine; v p

5, an enlarged view of the slid-able reed or comb employed on themachine for lifting the yarns away from the burners, and I r 6, anenlarged view of the rod or roller employed for lifting the sheet awayfrom the burners when the apparatus is applied to use for singeing clothinstead of yarn,

pieces or angle-irons 16.

Serial No. 612.273.

Referring to the drawings the present embodiment of the invention asherein shown comprises, in general, a series of burners; means fortraveling or feeding a sheet of yarns or other textile material acrossthe burners; means for arresting the feeding operation; and means forautomatically Withdrawing the material from proximity to the burnersupon the stopping of the machine.

As illustrated in Fig. 1, a plurality of gasburners 2 are supported on aframework 3 which may consist of suitable legs or standards l,longitudinal side-rails 5, and lateral cross-struts or stringers 6. lheframework 3 may be constructed from channel-bars and angle-irons jointedtogether with rivets, and

is preferably made in two parts or sections A and B. Each sectioncarriesits own set of burners 2 which usually consist of suitable tubesor pipes 7 extending laterally across the upper side-rails 5 of theframe 3. A plurality of the burner-pipes 7 are employed on each sectionA and B of the framework 3, being spaced apart in parallel relation, andin the present drawings Ihave illustrated four pipes in all, although agreater or less number may be used if desired. Each. setor group ofpipes 7 is connected by suitable fittings to a gas and air intake ormixingchamber 10, into which leads the gas or other fuel feed-pipe 11. Asuitable valve or shut off 12 is provided for controlling the supply offuel, and the gas and air are mixed in the chamber 10 and carried to theburners 2 under pressure to be ignited in a Bunsen flame. The burners 2may consist of a series of small openings spaced at short intervalsalong the pipes 7, but preferably, the pipes are slitted along the topand the opening thus formed covered with wire gauze.

At the forward and rearward ends of the frame work 3 are verticaluprights or standards 14L comprising opposite pairs of parallel bars 15fastened at the bottom to the siderails 5 and connected at the top bycross- The uprights 14; are designed toprovide vertical ways or tracks17 for the ends of two combs or reeds 20 and 21 which are arranged toslide up and down therein. Referring to Fig. 5, the combs or reeds 20and 21 may consist of cylindrical rods or tubes 23 having rows of teethor dents 18 arranged along the top, and provided at their ends withblock-like shoes 2 1' h ch are fitted to s d i the y 1 i the standards14. The ree'ds and 21 are raised and lowered on the standards 14 bymeans of pairs of cords or chains 25 and 26 fastened to eyes 27 on theshoes 24. The cords 25 pass over sheaves or pulleys 28 journaled inbearing-brackets 29 mounted on the cross-pieces 16 at the top of thestandards 14;. At their opposite ends the cords 25 and 26 are at tachedto the peripheries of a pair of flanged wheels or drums 30 to adapt themto be wound thereon to raise thereeds 20 and 21 in their ways, seeFig. 1. The drums 30 are mounted fast on the ends of a shaft 31extending across the top of the framework 3 and journaled in bearings 32fastened to the side-rails 5.

A crank-arm 33 on one of the drums 30 is provided with a handle 34 fromwhich both drums may be manually rotated, and a pawl 35, shown in detailin Fig. 4, is pivoted on a bearing 36 on the frame 3 with its endcarrying a pin .37 adapted to enter'a notch 38 in the rim of the flange39 on the drum. The notch 38 is located in such position on thecircumference of the drum 30 that when the cords 25 and 26 have beenwound up to raise the reeds 20 and 21 to the top of the standards 14 thepawl will engage the notch to hold the drums from turning back. In thisway the drums are locked in position to maintain the reeds raised, andwhen it is required to lower them again the drums may be released bylifting the pawl out of the notch.

The combs or reeds 20 and 21 support the web or mat of yarns y to directthe latter across the top of the burner-pipes 7 and through or inproximity to the flames issu ing from the burners 2. The yarns 3/ may betaken from individual spools, cops or bobbins arranged on a suitablecreel, ascommonly used in the art, or inother instances the threads oryarns may lead from a single spool or beam Y as illustratedin Figs. 1and 2. In either case the relatively large number of yarns or filaments3 are spread out in a flat web or mat, with the individual threads keptseparate and prevented from snarlingor tangling by the teeth or dents 18between which they draw. It is to be noted at this point, however, thatmy improved apparatus is adapted. for singeing or gassing sheetmaterials such as textile fabrics or the like, and for such uses thetoothed reeds 20 and 21 are replaced by smooth 'rods or rollers 60,shown in Fig. 6, across which the cloth will draw without obstruction. v

The spool or beam 'Y carrying the material to be singed or gassed maybe'mounted to rotate in a suitable cradle or holder and, as shown inFigs. 1 and '2, I provide for this purpose a 1 ings for the gud 'eons ofthe spool or fora shaft or axle 41 extending axially through its barrel;I use provide braking ineans aai'r ofstandards having bearfor arrestingthe rotation of the spool when the travel or feed of the material isinterrupted during the operation of the machine to piece up the yarns orfor other purposes.

As shown in Fig. 1, a brake-lever is pivoted on a bracket 15 fastened tothe floor. the lever being provided at its end with a shoe 1G lined withfriction-material adapted to contact with the rim of one of the flanges47 on the spool Y. The brake-lever 1f may be operated manually bypressing the foot sraised' away from the burners, upon the arrest of itsfeed or travel with respect thereto, a braking action will be applied tothe Spool or beam Y to prevent it from running ahead under its momentumto unreel a loose length of yarns.

For feeding the material through the niachine to draw it across theburners 2, any suitable type of reeling or winding machine may be usedas generally employed for this purpose. lVhen the material to be treatedconsists of yarn or thread it is usually wound on a ball-warper toprepare it for further processes after the singeing operation. F 1 and 2illustrate a well-known type of warping machine \V in which the yarnsare gathered together or contracted into a rope or chain c and woundhelically on a mandrel or tube E to build up the cylindrical ball orpackage C. The yarns 1 lead off from the comb or reed 21 in fanshape, asillustrated in Fig. 2, and i. ng around a suitable drum or pulley notherein shown) are gathered together in the chain c which is guided backand forth along the mandrel E by a traversing trumpet T. The ball C isrotated by peripheral contact with a drum D which is driven from a shafti5 carrying tight and loose belt-pulleys l, P. The operation of thewinder is controlled in the usual manner by shifting the belt 02 fromone pulley, to the other by n'ieaus of a shipper-fork F, see Fig. 3.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 3, the stopping and starting of the warper orother winding or reeling machine is controlled concurrentlv with theraising and lowering of the yarn by means of suitable instrumentaliticssuch as those now described. The belt-shipper F slides on a rod R and isshifted by means of an arm or lever 50 fast on the end of rod orrockeishaft 51 which is mounted in bearings 52'and extends along the ofthe frame 3. On theop'posite end of theshaft 51 is an arm or lever 58connected by a rod or link 54; to a crank pin 55 on the sid of one ofthe drums 30. It will be obvious from the above description that whenthe drums 30 are turned from the crank-handle 34, to raise the reeds 20and 21, the connection-rod 54 will be operated to swing the arm 53 torock the shaft 51. The rocking of the shaft 51 acts to move the lever 50to slide the shipper-fork F to shift the belt from the tight to theloose pulley, to stop the windingmachine and the machine started fromthe reverse operation of these elements.

The method of operation of the complete apparatus is as follows: Theyarns or threads y are led off from the spool or beam Y through the reed20 and thence across the top of the frame 3 to the reed 21. From thereed 21 the yarns lead out and around a guiding-pulley (not shown) andthence back to the warper W in which they are gathered togetherin thechain c and traversed by the trumpet T to feed them to the ball C. InFig. 1 of the drawings the dot-and-dash lines illustrate the yarns y asraised away from the burners 2, the reeds 20 and 21 being shown inposition at the top of their standards 14. Assuming that with the partsin the relation here shown the machine is at rest, the drums 80 will belocked from turning by the engagement of the pawl 35 with the notch 38,and the forward end of the brakelever 44 will be depressed with. itsbrake-shoe 46 frictionallv engaged with the flange 47 of the beam Y. Atthe same time the crankpin 55 will be in such position that theconnectin -rod 54 will hold the shaft 51 with the shipper-fork Fopposite the loose pulley P so that the belt as runs on the idlerwithout driving the warper W.

The operator takes his position at the side of the machine withinconvenient reach of the crank-handle 34, and to start the operation ofthe mechanism the pawl 35 is released from the drum 30 and the crank 33turned in the direction indicated by the arrow a in Fig. 1. As the drums30 are rotated in this direction the cords or chains 25 and 26 areunwound'to lower the reeds 20 and 21 to the bottom of the ways 17 on thestandards 14 where their shoes 24 will rest on the side-rails of theframework 3. It is to be understood that meanwhile the burners 2 havebeen lighted, and with the reeds and 21 in their lowermost position theyarns y/ will be directed thereacross through the flames from theburners, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1. As the drums 30 areturned back to lower the reeds 20 and 21 the brake-lever 44 will bereleased to free its shoe 46 from the flange 47 on the beam Y, to allowthe latter to turn freely, and meanwhile the connecting-rod 54 will bemoved from the crank-pin '55 to rock the shaft 51 in the directionindicated by the arrow 6 in Fig. 3. This rocking action of the shaft 51operates the arm- 50 to slide the belt-shipper F to the left, as viewedin Fig. 3. to shift the belt w from the loose pulley P to the tightpulley P and in this manner the warper W is started to operate to draw iare ignited and burnt off so that the mate- 7;

rial is singed and cleaned to present a more uniform and smootherappearance before being wound into the ball C. When a yarn or threadbreaks it is necessary to stop the machine to piece up the ends, andmore he quent stoppages are also required at intervals in the travel ofthe yarns to insert lease threads through the web in accordance with theusual practice. lVhen it is desired to stop the machine, for these orany other purl poses, the operator simply reverses the procedure abovedescribed by turning the crank in the direction opposite to thatindicated by the arrow a in Fig. 1. This action causes the drums 30 tobe rotated to wind on the cords and 26 to raise the reeds 20 and 21,whereby the sheet of yarns 3 will be lifted away from the burners 2 toprevent the material from being scorched or burnt after its travelthrough the flames has been arrested. As the yarns 1 are raised orlifted away from the flames the turning of the drums causes theconnecting-rod 54 to rock the shaft 51 and arm to carry the belt-shipperF to the right as viewed. in Fig.

3. This action shifts the driving-belt r onto the loose pulley P to.stop the warper N and the travel or feed of the yarns is immediatelyarrested concurrently with their beinp; raised away from the burners. Asthe draft on the yarns is discontinued at the warping or winding machinethe brake-lever 44 is operated, in the manner as before explained, toapply a brakingraction on the flange of the spool or beam Y, and in thisit way the beam is restrained from running; ahead under the effect ofits momentum so that the tension on the yarns will not be undulyslackened. This last step in the automatic operation of the machine. ismost important as preventing the tension on the yarns being slackened tosuch an extent that the material will sag down into close proximity tothe burners and become scorched or burnt.

It is to be understood, of course, that the burners 2 remain lightedcontinuously during the operation of the machine, for by removing theyarns from proximity thereto there is no need for shutting off the fuelsupply orcovering the flames with emards or shields. The purpose ofarranging the burners in two or more sets or groups is twofold and makesfor an important advantage in the operation of the device as new 621plained. In. the first place, the arrangement whereby the burners may beplaced with one group considerablyadvanced with respect to the other setprovides that when the machine has been stopped if the yarns aretraveled beyond the first set of burners after they are raised awaytherefrom, when they are lowered again at the starting of the machinethe unsinged portions of the material will still be brought into contactwith the flames from the second set of burners. This provisioneliminates the chance of any portion of the yarns escaping the gassingoperation during the progress of'the material through the machine.

Another advantage resulting from the an rangement of the burners ingroups on the two separate sections A and B of the frame 3 is that thereis less danger of overheating or scorching the yarns as they passthrough the flames. W hen the burners are grouped in a single series ofclosely spaced units, as has heretofore been the common practice, theheat from four or more rows of flames is usually so intense that theyarns are apt to be scorched, dried and weakened to such an extent thatthey break and fall into the flames, sometimes setting the whole sheetor mat afire andfcausing much damage and waste of material. lVith thepresent improved arrangenient I have found that while the singeingoperation is in every respect as cliicient as with the usual closegrouping of the burners, there is muchless liabilityof over-singeing,scorching or burning the yarns. lVith the present in'iproved apparatus Iam able to treat very fine delicate filaments where heretofore thesingeing process has been fraught with great danger of damage and lossto such light gossamer materials.

1 am aware that it is old in the art to provide means for gassing orsingeing textile materials by passing them through or over flames for aset of burners. Heretofore, however, it has usually been considered necessary to extinguish or cover the flames from the burners when thetravel of the yarns is arrested to'pieee up ends and insert leases; or,in other cases, to remove the flames from contact with the yarns byshifting the burners bodily away from proximity thereto. As as I knowthe present disclosure is the first machine in which the mat of yarns isbodily shifted to remove the material from contact with the flames, andthis arrangement makes for a most important improvement in'the art.lVhe're heretofore the c overing, shielding orshifting oftheburners hasentailed the use of complicated and'cumhersome mechanism,flexihle'connections for the burner pipes and heavy loads to be raised,in the present invention; tlieimeans for raising the yarns from theb'lirn'eifsis extremely simple, compact afidveryeasiiy operated. lurthermore, there is no danger of the leakage of gas through theflexible couplings or frequentlyoperated shut-otf valves. Statedbriefly, the present improved apparatus is much more simple andeconomical to manufacture; more convenient and easy to operate; and hasgreater capacity in operation with less danger of injury or damage tothe material being treated.

lVhile I have herein illustrated only one preferred embodiment of theinvention it is to be understood that various modificatioi'is maybemade'in the structure and arrangement of the apparatus without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the appended claims. Tl'ierefore withoutlimiting myself in this respect, I claim:

1. Ina singeing machine, the combination with theburners, of means forlongitudinally traveling a sheet of textile strands across the burnersto expose it to the flames therefrom, a plurality of spaced supports forguiding the sheet to maintain it in proximity to the burners, and meansfor moving said supports to shift the'sheet laterally toward and awayfrom the burners.

In a singeing machine, the combination with a. plurality of burners, ofmeans to travel a sheet of yarns across the burners, guiding-beansarranged fore and aft of the burners to adapt the sheet of yarns to feedthereaeross, and means to move said guiding-means to carry the sheet ofyarns a suliicient distance away from the burners to remove them fromexposure to the heat from the flames.

3. In a singeing machine, the combination with a plurality of burners,of means to travel a sheet of yarns in a horizontal plane above theburners, a plurality of guidingmeans for directing the sheet inparallelism with the burners, and means for moving said. guiding-meansto a location remote from their normal position whereby to bodily shiftthe whole sheet of yarns to remove it from exposure to the heat from theburners.

4. ln a siugeing machine, the combination of a frame, horizontal burnersmounted on the frame, horizontal guiding-means arranged fore and aft ofthe burners on the frame for guiding a sheet of yarns in a plane abovethe burners, means to draw the sheet of yarns across the guiding-means,and means toflraise the guidinganeans a sufficie'nt distance above theburners to remove the yarns from exposure to the heat from the flames.

5.Infasingjeing machine, the combination of a frame,b'uriie'rssuppor'te'd in horizontalposi'tion'ou the frame, uprights atthe ends of the frame, horizontal bars slidable en the uprights andadapted to gu'idefa sheet ryarns acrossthe burners, and means .toslide'thebars on the uprights to raise the sheet of yarns a suflicientdistance from the burners to remove them from exposure to the heat fromthe flames.

6. In a singeing machine, the combination of a frame, a series ofburners on the frame, vertical ways on the frame, reeds slidable on theways, and means connected to raise and lower the reeds in unison.

7. In a singeing apparatus, the combination of a frame, a pair of reedsslid-able in vertical ways on the frame, burners arranged between thereeds, a rotatable yarn beam, braking-means for the beam, awarping-machine for drawing the yarns off from the beam through thereeds and across the burners, means for raising the reeds to lift theyarns away from the burners, means connected therewith to arrest theoperation of the warping-machine, and means actuated concurrentlytherewith to operate the braking-means to check the rotation of thebeam.

8. In a singeing machine, the combination of aplurality of burnersarranged in separate groups with one group spaced a considerably greaterdistance from the next adjacent group than the distance between theindividual burners, means to feed a sheet of yarns across the burnerswhereby the material is singed by one group of burners, al-

lowed to cool and subsequently singed by the next group of burners,means for guiding the sheet of yarns in its travel across the burners,and means for shifting the guidingmeans to withdraw the whole sheet ofyarns from exposure to the flames from the burners.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ANDREW M. GILLESPIE.

